Exploring examples of women’s leadership in African contexts

Abstract

The need to explore examples of women’s leadership in African contexts has risen with initiatives such as the United Nations (UN) African Women Leaders Network, African Women in Science and Engineering, Leading Women of Africa, 2019 Forbes Women Africa Leading Women Summit, the African and European Union’s recent “Women in Power” event (2018), the associated Declaration and Africa’s Agenda 2063, the African Union’s Women’s Decade, Women and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women. Common to such initiatives is a recognition of the need to acknowledge and redress longstanding gender inequality and inequity, oppression of women, power imbalances, and patriarchal norms and systems. Part of this involves recognising and supporting women in leadership positions. It also involves analysing the opportunities and barriers women leaders face relative to their context, culture, and leadership roles and goals.